Don Carlos was born was born in Madrid the 20th of January, 1716. His Father, Philip V (1693-1746), was the first Bourbon king of Spain. Philip was the grandson of Louis XIV who died in 1715. Don Carlos's mother was Elizabeth Farnese (1692-1766) a granddaughter of the Italian Duke of Parma and Philip V's second wife. Philip's first wife, Maria Luisa of Savoy, had born him two sons Luis and Ferdinand, both of whom would become kings of Spain.

By the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, Spain lost that part of the Netherlands that had belonged to the Habsburgs as well as Naples, Milan, and Sardinia, all of which went to the Austrian Emperor. Gibraltar and the island of Minorca were also lost as prizes of Great Britain. In return, however, Philip V, the former Duc d'Anjou was placed upon the throne of Spain, but only on the provision that he would never attempt to unite the kingdoms of France and Spain under one ruler.

Nevertheless, shortly after the death of Louis XIV of France in 1715, Philip V hoped to gain the crown of France for himself. He also sought to gain territories in Italy for his children by Elizabeth Farnese. In November of 1717, taking advantage of Austria's ongoing war with Turkey, Philip seized Sardinia. The following year the Spanish occupied Sicily. To curb Spain's expansionism, Great Britain, France, Austria, and the formed the Quadruple Alliance in 1718 (the United Provinces would join in 1719). After a series of military reverses, Philip abandoned his Italian claims. Spain lost Sardinia to Savoy, but Don Carlos attained the right to the succession of Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany through his mother. Philip also gave up all pretensions to the throne of France.

From January to August Philip V briefly abdicated in favor of his 17-year old son who assumed the throne as Luis I. Luis's reign was a short one: he died of smallpox within a few months, and Philip once again became king.

At 15, Don Carlos became the Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Tuscany when Antonio, the last Farnese duke, died in 1731. On October 20 Don Carlos left Seville for his new Italian duchy. His arrival in Florence was delayed by a bout with smallpox, which he survived, but he did not actually arrive in his capital of Florence until 1732.

In February of 1733 Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, died. His death precipitated the War of the Polish Succession. France, backing Stanislaus Leszczynski -- the father-in-law of Louis XV -- as the new Polish King, declared war on Austria in October. Spain declared war on Austria the following month. 

On January 20 an 18-year-old Don Carlos became the commander of the combined armies of Parma and Tuscany. On May 10 he entered Naples and reclaimed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as a Bourbon possession. By a treaty with Austria in 1735, he was confirmed as the King of the Two Sicilies in return for relinquishing his three duchies. Philip and Carlos also had to agree that the crowns of Spain and the Two Sicilies would never be united.

In May 1738 Don Carlos married Maria Amalia, the daughter of Augustus III who was to win the War of Polish Succession and become the King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. At the Treaty of Vienna in 1739, Don Carlos surrendered Parma, but was made the King of the Two Sicilies. Stanislaus lost his claim to the throne of Poland, but became the new Duke of Lorraine. The former Duke of Lorraine, Francis Stephen, in line to become the Emperor of Austria by dint of the Pragmatic Sanction, received the Duchy of Tuscany by means of compensation.

On October 20 1740, Emperor Charles VI of Austria died. By December 16 the Prussians had begun to seize Silesia and the War of the Austrian Succession began. Although France would not enter the war until 1744, both Spain and Great Britain had already been at war over issues of trade (the "War of Jenkins' Ear") since 1739. With the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession, Naples, as an ally of Spain, provided troops for the anti-Hapsburg coalition. This was done, however, with great reluctance, as Carlos sought prosperity for his kingdom through peaceful means. It was only after intense pressure was placed upon him by his parents, who were trying to carve out a kingdom for his brother, Don Philip, that he agreed to enter the war.

On August 18 1742, a British squadron of 13 men-of-war anchored at Naples. The British commander, Commodore Martin, threatened to bombard the city if Carlos did not recall the 10,000 troops that he had pledged to the Franco-Spanish army. Bowing to pressure, Don Carlos withdrew from the war temporarily. It was a humiliating lesson that he would never forget.

After the British ships left, he re-entered the war when Austrian troops appeared on his borders. At the Battle of Velletri of August 4, 1744, he was surprised by an early morning attack, but managed to turn it into a victory. For the duration of the war his borders remained secure.

On July 4 1746, Philip V died. His 33-year-old surviving son from his first marriage assumed the throne as Ferdinand VI.

At the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle of October 18, 1748, Prussia formally gained control of Silesia and Glatz. Don Carlos's younger brother Philip received the Duchies of Parma and Piacenza. Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia regained Savoy and Nice. Francis I of Tuscany became the Emperor of Austria.

On May 1 1756 the Treaty of Versailles, allying France and Austria followed on the heels of the Treaty of Westminster in January which made allies of George II's Great Britain and Frederick the Great's Prussia. This was known as the famous "Reversal of Alliances" uniting the Bourbon's and their traditional enemies the Habsburgs in common cause. By May 18, the Seven Years War officially had begun. The pacifistic Ferdinand decided to remain neutral in this conflict.

In 1758 the Queen of Spain died. This proved devastating to Ferdinand who had been undergoing a steady period of physical decline and increasing mental eccentricity. By August 10 of 1759 Ferdinand had followed his beloved wife to the grave. Don Carlos was now the King of Spain, his weak-minded older brother having been found unsuited to be named as heir.

On October 17 1759, Don Carlos arrived in Barcelona. He lingered briefly in Zaragosa where his son, the future Carlos IV, needed time to recover from measles. In July of 1760 he finally arrived in Madrid as Charles III of Spain. His second son Charles was named as Prince of Asturias and heir to the throne, his first son having been found to be feeble-minded and plagued by bouts of epilepsy.

On September 27 1760, Carlos's wife Maria Amalia died at the age of 36. He would never again remarry.

On October 5 1761, William Pitt had resigned as Prime Minister of Great Britain. He had wanted to declare war on Spain because of suspicions that the French and Spanish were about to revive the old Bourbon Family Compact, but George III and his other ministers do not want to be the ones to fire the first shot. Pitt's warnings proved to be correct, as the third Pacte de Famille between the two Bourbon kingdoms was signed in December of 1761. By January of 1762 Great Britain had declared war on Spain.

Don Carlos initially tried to pressure Portugal to end her alliance with Britain. Failing to reach a diplomatic solution, he ordered an invasion of that nation on two fronts. This was effectively blunted by a British army that was quickly transported to Lisbon. In July of 1762 Havana, British forces besieged Cuba. After its capture Great Britain had attained virtual control of the entire Caribbean basin. In September of 1762 a British force from Madras also captured Manila in the Philippines. These losses, coupled with similar reverses on the part of the French, finally induced the Bourbon kingdoms to sue for peace. On November 3 1763 a preliminary truce was signed in Paris.

On February 10 1764 Britain, France, and Spain signed a conclusive treaty of peace. Austria and Prussia would do the same five days later. Spain retained ownership of Cuba and the Philippines, but the Floridas went to Britain. Spain lost its ability to fish off Newfoundland, but the British maintained their logging rights in Belize. In recompense for Spain's loss of Florida, France ceded Louisiana to Spain. 

When the American War of Independence broke out, Spain remained officially at peace with Great Britain for the time being, as did France, but some assistance was given the American revolutionaries on an unofficial level. One of the most significant plums handed the Americans on the diplomatic front was the concept of "armed neutrality," supported by Don Carlos and his minister Floridablanca, effectively isolating England from any significant European aid.

With Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in 1777, Don Carlos began to believe that Britain's fall from the greatness she had attained with the Treaty of Paris was eminent. However it was not until June 16 1779 that he declared war on the English. By the end of the year, Bernardo de Galvez, the energetic Spanish governor of Louisiana, had seized Baton Rouge and Natchez. Before the war's end, Mobile and Pensacola would also fall to Spanish arms.

However Spain's main war objective was to recapture Gibraltar and Minorca from the British. In July of 1781 this second objective was realized when Spanish threes suddenly attacked Minorca, forcing the surrender of Fort St. Philip by February 4, 1782. Gibraltar would prove to be a harder nut to crack.

The offensive against Gibraltar began on September 13, 1782. The Spanish unsuccessfully tried to batter the fort into submission with huge floating batteries. The British fired red hot cannon balls that burned and destroyed the floating batteries, and the French and Spanish navies failed to coordinate in the attack. Gibraltar was eventually supplied and relieved by the British navy.

Cornwallis surrendered Yorktown on October 19, 1781, and in March of the following year Lord North resigned. He was replaced by the Marquis of Rockingham, but only on the condition that American independence be recognized. Great Britain had become sick of a war that could not be won with both France and Spain allied to America. Preliminary peace articles were signed between the United States and Great Britain on November 30, 1782. The preliminaries of peace between Britain and the Bourbon nations were signed on January 20, 1783 at Versailles and the definitive Treaty of Versailles was signed on September 3, 1783. Spain was not able to win back Gibraltar but was given sovereignty over Minorca and the two Floridas, which had been won in battle.

History remembers Don Carlos as the greatest Bourbon king of Spain and an enlightened monarch. Spain prospered under his rule. His reign was noted for economic and administrative reforms and for the expulsion of the Jesuits (1767). Charles was well served by administrators such as Aranda, Floridablanca, Campomanes, and Jovellanos. He sponsored public works such as a new Customs House, the Prado gallery, an observatory, botanical gardens, a Natural History Library and a new hospital. He was a patron of the arts and a benefactor to many artists including Goya. During his reign learned men, scientists, and craftsmen were attracted to Spain from all over Europe.

Don Carlos died on December 14, 1788 at the new Palacio de Oriente.

Related

The Forces of King Charles III

Introduction
Infantry and Household Troops
Light Infantry and Provincial Militia
Cavalry: Line, Light, and Dragoons
Artillery, Engineers, and Standards

This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com